Newport‑Mesa Unified plans spring 2025 pilot of locally developed ethnic studies course

The Newport‑Mesa Unified School District board on Tuesday heard a presentation from district staff laying out plans to pilot a locally developed ethnic studies course in spring 2025 and to bring a proposed course outline to the board for adoption in late spring.

"Under the direction of the board, Newport Mesa has opted to move forward with a fourth option and develop our own ethnic studies course," said Dr. Mike Sciacca, who presented the district's process and timeline. District staff said they chose a locally developed course so the curriculum can reflect local history and community input while meeting state requirements under Assembly Bill 101.

AB 101 requires districts to begin offering an ethnic studies course beginning in the 2026 school year, with the graduating class of 2030 expected to have completed a course. District staff described a multi-year "accordion" process of repeated drafts and community review. The current plan calls for a standalone, history/social science elective tentatively titled "Introduction to Ethnic Studies," organized around the four groups enumerated under the law: African American; Asian American and Pacific Islander; Latino American; and Native American.

Dr. Sciacca said the district has formed a community input team and two curriculum development teams, has identified four pilot teachers (one at each comprehensive high school) and has produced roughly eight to 10 lessons per ethnic group that are still being refined. "We're gonna proceed with the pilot in 2025," he said, adding that the pilot will gather qualitative feedback, surveys and student conversations before a final course is proposed for board adoption.

Community members and pilot-team participants described the process as collaborative. "It was very encouraging and hopeful," said Maggie (a community input team member), noting diverse viewpoints were heard. District staff said the pilot will be open to students in grades 9–12 for the initial phase and that staff will provide professional development so teachers teach the course in the spirit of the curriculum team's vision. "We're not assuming that they've gone on this journey with us — really making sure that we on‑ramp them with all the same energy and focus and enthusiasm that's been created by this awesome team," Dr. Sciacca told trustees.

The presentation also said course materials will emphasize local stories where appropriate and will include a student-choice research project so students can investigate groups or histories beyond the four required clusters. Trustees asked about teacher selection (a volunteer and site‑selected process for this first pilot), how credit and A–G approval will be handled, and how the district will communicate pilot enrollment to students and parents; staff said they will follow up with communications to sites and invite trustees to preview materials in small groups.

Next steps: the district will run the pilot in spring 2025, collect feedback from students, teachers and parents, and return to the board with a proposed course outline for adoption in late spring. If approved, the district will then submit the course for A–G approval for use as a history/social science elective.